Edwin Evariste Moise (; December 22, 1918 – December 18, 1998) was an American mathematician and mathematics education reformer. After his retirement from mathematics he became a

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

of 19th-century English poetry and had several notes published in that field.

Early life and education

Edwin E. Moise was born December 22, 1918, in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He graduated from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in 1940. He worked as a cryptanalyst and Japanese translator for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He received his Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1947. His dissertation was titled "An indecomposable continuum which is homeomorphic to each of its nondegenerate subcontinua," a topic in continuum theory, and was written under the direction of Robert Lee Moore. In his dissertation Moise coined the term pseudo-arc.

Career

Moise taught at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1947 to 1960. He was James B. Conant Professor of education and mathematics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1960 to 1971. He held a Distinguished Professorship at Queens College, City University of New York from 1971 to 1987. Moise started working on the topology of

3-manifold In mathematics, a 3-manifold is a topological space that locally looks like a three-dimensional Euclidean space. A 3-manifold can be thought of as a possible shape of the universe. Just as a sphere looks like a plane (geometry), plane (a tangent ...

s while at the

. During 1949–1951 he held an appointment at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

during which he proved Moise's theorem that every 3-manifold can be triangulated in an essentially unique way. Moise joined the

School Mathematics Study Group The School Mathematics Study Group (SMSG) was an American academic think tank focused on the subject of reform in mathematics education. Directed by Edward G. Begle and financed by the National Science Foundation, the group was created in 1958 i ...

when it started in 1958, as a member of the geometry writing team. The team produced several course outlines and sample pages for a 10th grade

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

course, and then Moise and Floyd L. Downs wrote a geometry textbook, based on the team's approach, that was published in 1964. The textbook used metric postulates instead of Euclid's postulates, a controversial approach supported by some mathematicians such as

Saunders Mac Lane Saunders Mac Lane (August 4, 1909 – April 14, 2005), born Leslie Saunders MacLane, was an American mathematician who co-founded category theory with Samuel Eilenberg. Early life and education Mac Lane was born in Norwich, Connecticut, near w ...

but opposed by others such as Alexander Wittenberg and Morris Kline. Moise was a president of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

, a vice-president of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

, a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and was on the executive committee of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction. Moise retired from Queens College in 1987 and started a second career studying 19th century English poetry. He had six short notes of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

published. In the middle and late 1960s, Moise was among the few members of the senior faculty at Harvard University who strongly and publicly opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Moise died in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on December 18, 1998, aged 79.

Selected publications

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References

External links

*
MAA presidents: Edwin Evariste Moise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moise, Edwin Evariste 1918 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians American geometers Harvard University Department of Mathematics faculty Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars mathematicians from Louisiana presidents of the Mathematical Association of America Queens College, City University of New York faculty American topologists Tulane University alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni

Early life and education

Career

See also

Selected publications

References

External links